Chapter 3

Drifting... Drifting in happiness... Drifting in peace... Drifting in love... Rebecca's mind felt totally relaxed and secure. Her body felt totally warm and safe. "More than safe," Rebecca thought sleepily, "my body is being petted... accepted... cherished... beloved... More than my body... Me! My hopes and fears... My strengths and weaknesses... My dreams... The essence of who I am... The innermost part of my spirit is being petted... accepted... cherished... and beloved..."

Rebecca slowly opened her eyes. She was lying flat on her back, wonderfully warm within the cocoon of the sleeping bag and floating over the air mattress. A large bulky sweater was beneath her head and neck, providing a delightful pillow. Robert was lying by her side, looking in joy into her eyes as his hand caressed her breasts. They held eye contact for a long moment, neither saying anything, and then Rebecca sighed deeply at the pleasure of the caresses and closed her eyes.

The pleasure was exquisite, both relaxing and arousing. Both of Rebecca's nipples were fully erect, and she could feel Robert's erect penis pushing into her thigh just below her hip. She was breathing slowly and deeply, gasping in pleasure as Robert gently pinched and released her nipples between his fingers. The playful probing of the underside of her breasts was arousing a deep need for sexual release within her. She opened her eyes and turned, reached over and held his penis for the first time.

"Do you want to suckle? I want to give you everything that I am, including all of my sex. I'll give you my virginity now if you want... You are my very first boyfriend. You'll have to teach me how to please you, and excite you... But you'll find me a very eager pupil..."

"Dearest, loveliest Rebecca... You are so beautiful! I do want to suckle you... And be inside you... I'm also filled with feelings of tenderness for you, of wanting to be as gentle as I can, of not wanting to rush you. Love is patient, and I love you dearly. I can be patient. What are your thoughts?"

Rebecca sighed and thought for a moment. "It's hard for me to hold back Rob. All my thoughts are to commit to you, and then to sexually express my commitment. There's one small part of my mind that agrees with you, a quiet voice telling me that patience is a virtue, and a rewarding one... I'll listen to that voice for a while longer, but not forever. I know my own heart. I know that what I feel now won't change. I'll want to offer you my heart soon, permanently offer it to you. After that, I'll wait only as long as you want me to wait. I don't want to rush you either... Oh, and one more thing. Thank you, for saving my life." Rebecca let go of his penis and hugged him with both arms. The silent embrace lasted several minutes.

They broke apart in a playful mood. "Robert, I'm thrilled that you think my body is sexy! I took a lot of teasing about it as a kid."

"What!? I think you're drop-dead gorgeous. Are you serious!?"

"Yes. When I was growing up, I loved school so much and did so well that a lot of the kids were resentful. Many viewed it as competition, and I didn't know how to hide my joy in learning new things. The teasing went way beyond calling me teacher's pet, my two most common names were The Brain, said with a sneer, and Eagle-beak."

"Eagle-beak?"

"My nose, Robert! It's a classic Jewish nose. Doesn't it look a little large to you?"

"Frankly, no! It fits your face beautifully. Here, I have a mathematical formula to prove this to you, let me demonstrate..." Robert spent the next several minutes kissing Rebecca's nose and rubbing his own nose alongside it, until Rebecca finally giggled when he started to lick it.

"Stop that! It tickles! I accept the validity of your mathematical proof! And what you're doing is driving my loins wild with desire! If you keep this up, I'm going to insist that you mount me and copulate!"

"Aha! Great! Something for me to remember then! Seriously though Becky, it's so sad that you were teased. Was there no one who was kind to you?"

"Not at the kid level. Well, a few of the girls were okay, casual friends, people who wrote best wishes into my high school yearbook. But the boys really resented me outdoing them in all the academics... I remember as a young teen, when my breasts first developed, I remember wondering if seeing me as an attractive girl would make any difference to them. My mom let me try her nail polish, and I put on a feminine dress for school. Nothing provocative, just something that showed I had a front, and not my usual sweater and blue jeans."

"What happened?"

"It was awful. I heard comments in the hall like The Brain has tits, and The Brain thinks it's female. On my way home, a group of the meaner boys met up with me and made some really lewd gestures and obscene comments. They were all chanting for me to flash my tits when they finally let me run away. I got home and cried. It was the last time I tried nail polish, until I put it on for you..."

Robert gently petted Rebecca's head and kissed her.

Rebecca continued. "I thought when I got to high school, things would be better. But they weren't. The same group of bullies moved there with me. I remember in the fall once, I came down with a stomach flu. Money was tight for us with my dad dead and I didn't want my mom to have to leave work, so I just stuck it out. By the afternoon, I was hearing comments that I was so smart that it was I who was the inventor of the automatic flush and recycling toilet. I became the girl from A.F.A.R.T... It went on for months. When I would pass by in the hall between classes, some boy would always cough and wave a hand in front of his face, to remind me how I smell when I have diarrhea."

Rebecca looked up and saw a look of pure horror on Robert's face.

"Oh, I knew it wasn't me, just the cruelty of a bunch of bullies. One time they couldn't even get their story straight. I'd hear a passing comment like, did you ever notice how some people's legs are so long for their body, they walk like a stiff giraffe? And then next period in the hall I'd hear, did you ever notice how some people's legs are so short for their body, they waddle like a crocodile? It was so stupid, the whole thing would have been funny if it weren't based on cruelty. But it was based on cruelty, and I couldn't laugh at it... Well, at least the adults in my life were supportive. My mom likes to play at being a Jewish mother a bit, but she really does love me. A lot too. My dad was wonderful, but he died when I was twelve. But my aunts and uncles stepped right in. I'm really close to my extended family. It was my rock growing up."

"My gosh Becky, those bullies were idiots, pure monsters... My growing up was just the opposite in a way. The kids I knew were mostly okay, but some of the adults were insane." Robert turned and lay down on his back, and Rebecca turned to face him. She pushed the sweater from under her head to under his, giving him a pillow. She then spent several minutes caressing him, letting her fingers slowly trace the outline of his face.

"I can dimly imagine what it must have been like, having no permanent family as a child. You told me before both your parents died when you were an infant. Was there no one to adopt you? Forgive me if I'm being pushy... I don't mean to pry..."

"Oh no, Becky, I want to tell you... I was adopted for a while... Wait. How about I tell you over breakfast? There's no way to heat it, but I have several kilos of high-energy trail food in my backpack, probably enough for 10 to 20 small meals for us each."

"Sure! I'm not hungry yet, but breakfast sounds nice."

"I'll get your clothes for you, so you can stay toasty warm while you dress." Robert began to climb out of the top of the sleeping bag. "Ah oh!"

"What? What do you see?"

"Trouble."

Rebecca quickly followed Robert out of the sleeping bag, standing naked on the ledge in silence for a moment. "Rebecca," she then said, "Memo to self: Do not take your eyeballs off of this deadly environment. How much time do you think we have Rob?"

"Don't know. But it's probably a good idea if we pack up and head to the oval."

The water level in the tank had risen dramatically during their sleep, and was now six to seven feet below the level of the ledge. Robert and Rebecca spent a few minutes dressing and packing up their gear.

"Here, Becky. Put this on below your slicker."

"It's your sweater. Are you sure?"

"Totally. I have my jacket and I probably won't even zip it. I'll be fine."

"Thank you..." Rebecca pulled the wool sweater over her head. "Nice! It's very warm and goes down to my thighs. This will even keep my rump toasty! I'll be very happy." Rebecca started to put on her slicker. "Robert! My cell phone! I doubt I'll get a signal in this tank, but I can see what time it is!" Rebecca tried to key her cell phone for a moment. "Nuts! I think the battery is dead. And I just recharged it Sunday morning too."